Broncos & NFL

Broncos' Peyton Manning a performing wonder at age 38

A few quarterbacks have performed well at age 38, but no quarterback at any age played as well as the Broncos' Peyton Manning, above, did last season at age 37, when his record-setting effort earned him his fifth NFL MVP award. (Helen Richardson, The Denver Post)

As every athlete who ever lived can attest, Father Time never surrenders. In fact, this relentless character never has been beaten.

Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali and John Elway (the quarterback) all were defeated. Even Brett Favre retired once and for all.

But in Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, Father Time seems as confused as defensive coordinators who are trying to read the quarterback's tendencies. Yes, nature had its moments. Four neck surgeries were factors in Manning missing the 2011 season. A significant percentage of arm strength is gone.

Yet, at 38, an age when Father Time has delivered his share of knockout blows to even the greatest of passers, Manning has become a better quarterback.

Check that, Omaha. Manning is playing the best football of his professional life.

"Am I better? I am a different quarterback, I think," Manning said.

He then used a baseball analogy he shared on "Letterman" about how an aging pitcher who loses his fastball can still get guys out through location and guile.

"Am I throwing 60-yard passes downfield throughout the game?" Manning said. "No. But I like to kid that I can throw a really accurate 10-yard pass. A pretty good 20-yard pass. And if I get really crazy, maybe the occasional 47-yard pass."

To still be playing at 38 should first bring congratulations. Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly and Roger Staubach were among quarterbacks who didn't make it that far. For six other Hall of Famers — including Elway, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Dan Marino — the age of 38 was their curtain season.

It is a formidable number, 38. And Manning lends further proof. He reached 38 in March after posting the best statistical season of his career at age 37 — the best single season in NFL history, for that matter. He won his record fifth NFL MVP award.

Clearly, he is playing at the top of his game. And yet, apparently because he is 38, the most frequently asked question regarding Manning is: How much longer do you think he will play?

The way to bet: Through the 2016 season, when his five-year contract with the Broncos expires. True, any NFL player who reaches 38 plays on a year-to-year basis. So do 28-year-old players, for that matter.

But if Manning threw for 55 touchdowns and nearly 5,500 yards at age 37, why should anyone believe the end is near?

"Anytime you sign a five-year contract — it's really five one-year deals in many ways — I think that needs to be your goal," Manning said. "The team made plans to where they want a quarterback for this long so they can then fill spots here and there. That's what you try to do. You understand that when you get to this age — and John (Elway) understands."

A young 38?

Elway set the standard for the glorious exit, winning Super Bowls at age 37 and 38, when he couldn't move as well or throw as hard as he once did. A bum knee, banged-up shoulder and general overall body pain wouldn't allow Elway to try for three Super Bowl titles, so he went out on top.

Manning at 38 feels much better than Elway did at 38. In a perverse sense, those four neck surgeries that led to his stunning exit from Indianapolis were a blessing.

This is a reinvigorated player. Manning thinks of himself not so much as a 38-year-old quarterback going into his 16th active NFL season as a third-year quarterback for the Broncos.

(Click to enlarge)

"What I've stopped doing, or started doing, is I've set a new base line," Manning said. "I'm using 2012 as my new base line. My first year in Denver is my base line. Instead of comparing myself to 2005 or 2006, whatever, it's helped in my comparisons. Am I better than I was in 2012 in the weight room? Otherwise, you drive yourself crazy. In my case, there's so many variables. There's a new team, there's older age and coming off the injury."

Manning approached the other side of 35 by making concessions. "To me, these strength coaches are like a new coordinator," he said. "I'm spending as much time with Luke and Greek as I am with Adam (Gase, the team's offensive coordinator)."

Luke Richesson became the Broncos' strength and conditioning coach in 2012, the same year Manning arrived. Greek is Steve Antonopulos, a Broncos trainer since the disco era.

Initially, age wasn't a factor in developing a specially devised training program for Manning. The focuses were the neck and the nerve running through his right throwing triceps, which was so damaged when Manning arrived at Dove Valley he couldn't do a push-up without compensating through the shoulder.

"You could tell it irritated the heck out of him," Richesson said. "But I've never been around a guy so committed. First guy in, last guy out."

Over the years, the impression formed of Manning is he spends every waking hour watching film, studying opposing defensive coordinator tendencies, dissecting the playbook and game plan, throwing to his receivers.

Peak performance, though, cannot be achieved through work alone.

"There used to be times when I'd stay up late studying and I'd say, 'Hey, I'll lift tomorrow,' " Manning said. "Now, I have to get it all in. I've got to get my sleep. I've got to eat well. I was always aware of those things, but I'm more conscious about it. I can't just go out there and wing it anymore."

Manning in his 20s would spend the team stretch by standing and talking to Indianapolis offensive coordinator Tom Moore.

In Gase, Manning has a kindred X's and O's spirit. Gase enjoys the grind of the meeting room, the discussion of offensive concepts, the experimentation of personnel sets and play calls.

While Gase spends countless hours with Manning each week, part of his job description involves patience.

"I know his routine," Gase said. "It started in 2012 when we got him. One of the things he would always talk about is, 'I have to have time to rehab.' My organization is key because I can't have wasted time with him. I can't waste his time. Because he does have a regimen. The last thing I want to do is keep him forever, because you get in the season, he needs his rest as much as anybody else."

All those 12-play, 80-yard, no-huddle drives the Broncos have executed in the thin air of Sports Authority Field? Thank the VersaClimber, Manning's in-season cardio machine of choice.

"Sometimes, we'll have him go all out for two seconds, sometimes all out for 10 seconds," Richesson said. "Then, during recovery, he'll start barking out the play. And then visualizing and talking, 'Welker, Welker, watch him there.' Who else works like that?

"At 38, what's interesting about his ability to fight time is his ability to recover. Meaning we chart heart-rate recovery, and he has the best recovery on the team. And not by two or three beats either. By darn near 10 beats."

Using the Manning base line, Richesson said the QB's neck, nerve and arm get stronger every week. Father Time isn't going to understand this, but Richesson said Manning was stronger the first day he showed up for team conditioning in March than he was the week leading up to the Super Bowl on Feb. 2.

"I had a pass today that I dropped," Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas said Thursday. "I really don't drop a lot. But it came up on me quicker than usual. So I feel like he's getting stronger still."

So how long can Manning keep playing?

"In my mind, he could play another three to five years," Richesson said. "It's not crazy to think that."

Manning is more guarded.

"I never had a set number of years I wanted to play," he said. "I did set a goal to play for one team. I think that should be a goal for any player. I've considered this the second chapter of my career. I've felt better than I thought I would."

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